Sarah Jessica Parker Almost Quit ‘Sex and the City’ After Pilot

NEW YORK, NY — Sarah Jessica Parker, the iconic star of HBO‘s ‘Sex and the City,’ revealed that she initially panicked after the show was picked up in the late 1990s. During a recent episode of Kristin Davis‘ podcast, ‘Are You a Charlotte?’, Parker shared her feelings after filming the pilot in 1997.

After the pilot was filmed, Parker described her time on set as ‘lovely,’ but when HBO announced the series pickup, she felt overwhelmed. ‘I can’t be on a TV show. I don’t think I’m suited for that life,’ she recalled telling her agents.

Parker had previously appeared in various television shows, which left her hesitant about committing to a long-term project. ‘It’s very hard to explain. It also kind of depressed me,’ she said. She worried about the repetitive nature of a television series, fearing it would hinder her ability to pursue diverse work in theater and films.

‘The idea of a television series meant that I couldn’t do all those things,’ she explained. ‘It just kind of felt like somebody was putting their hand over my mouth.’

Her first instinct was to reach out to her agents and request an exit from the show. ‘Hey, can you get me out of this?’ she asked, even offering to work on films for HBO instead of committing to ‘Sex and the City.’

After discussions with her agents and HBO executives, Parker began to see the project in a new light. They encouraged her to consider it for just a year, saying they could walk away if she was unhappy. Meeting with familiar faces in the production team also made her feel more comfortable.

‘It went from being this oppressive idea to endless possibilities,’ Parker said, reflecting on her change of heart. On the first day of filming, she walked from her New York City apartment to set and felt exhilarated, saying, ‘There was no place I would rather have been than on our set every single solitary day.’

‘Sex and the City’ aired from 1998 to 2004, followed by two films and a sequel series, ‘And Just Like That…’ The third season of the revival premieres May 29, 2025, proving Parker’s initial reservations were replaced by tremendous success.